Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Hello there

As you can see I
took a break from the computer. Hanging with the kids and all. How
was your Christmas? I hope awesome in every way. We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends visiting from Utah.

thank you Auntie Annie

It all went so fast. The kids are always shocked when Christmas is over. We hung out all day with my parents while Dave worked Christmas Eve. Christmas morning the kiddos were up at 3:30 waiting to see if Santa came. Some of our kiddos still believe in that jolly man. They did choose to leave him celery this time though. Woke up and had our Happy Birthday cake for breakfast. This time we chose a simple cake.

*love my "I love Dave" bracelet from Olivia

*trinkets for Dave and I from Miah.He put a dollar bill wrapped up in everyone's stocking.So cute.

*the kids bought things for everyone else with their own money they received throughout the year for birthdays and odd jobs. They loved doing this.

this guy loves his banarrow

Then on Friday we had some of our dear old friends from Utah come for a visit with their tribe. It was so nice to hug them, catch up and squeeze their little ones. They have added 2 little foster ones to the mix too which are so precious. We had 11 kiddos in the house and it was so much fun. The kiddos had sword battles outside along with super power battles with plenty of crazy things going on. Love their fun and crazy imaginations.

Saturday Dave and I were blessed with a date night in Milwaukee. We went to a few grocery stores and hung out. We laughed so hard and had a blast. Love this time to reconnect with my awesome husband. Thank you Jasmine and Eric for taking some kiddos and my parents for taking the others. We couldn't do it without you all. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! More pictures to come when I get more time. We are schooling today.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Dave dropped off some delicious peanut butter/choclate pretzels we made at his police department. New recipe from a friend...addicting!

Praying you all have a wonderful Christmas. We are gathering with our family and celebrating the Saviour and making memories.There are so many things to be thankful for this year.

"For to us a child
is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Monday, December 22, 2014

Day 19, 20, 21...busy these last few days

*Yes our house has become like baking central here. They love it and so do I. It is so therapeutic for me...really! We tried all new recipes. I have no idea why, when we are going to give them to various people. I will not be offended if you don't like something! We did 12 bags of goodies to neighbors and some random people. We made some peanut butter chocolate cookies(awesome) sugar cookie bars, nestle crunch bars, and gooey butter cookies. Each kid liked something and not the other. It's always fun to try new things though.

*This is a tradition we do every year to the same family. They love ringing their doorbell and running!

*We love going to the nursing home throughout the year. We have a passion for the elderly. They are so loving and full of life. Love to hear their stories.

Made these delicious maple walnut bars...so addicting!

Dave is going for a check up today in Green Bay. Praying for good results. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Day 18

*We just happen to be in Sheboygan at our home school Co op yesterday and found a ton of outside workers. We went to Dunkin Donuts (way more choices in a bigger city) and got about 50 munchkins. My kiddo just love the name of those. They sound so darn cute. Then we got 8 not cocoas. We drove around a bit to find our receivers. Then at last we found a big group of them to bless. The kiddos so kindly walked up to the construction crew and blessed them with goodies. They all piled into the car after and were shocked how mean the guy was. Just told them to leave and to drop the things right on the ground. Then says "yeah, more free stuff." The kids told them they were spreading love and kindness and Merry Christmas. They decided to tell them that they would pray for them too once they saw how grumpy they all were. Once we got on the road we started talking about the situation. We never had such grumpy receivers before. I kind of chuckled but it was a great lesson for them. We chit chatted about people's lives and what they are going through. You never know what kind of brokenness is going on in their lives. The best thing you can do is tell them that you'll pray for them. We have the same standing rule with bullies. Totally throws them off!It works like a charm every time!

*We did some more cookie baking yesterday. Tried my hand at Snicker doodles and more Chocolate chip cookies. I have never ate one before or made them. The kiddos loved them. Some of the kiddos got a new favorite cookie in the house.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Day 17

*We chose to do
our random acts of kindness while we were out and about at Children's
Hospital. We have had full days these last few weeks I can barely find
time to write anything down. Busy busy busy. One of these days I will
catch up on everything...promise. We were able to lift some others up
when we went into Children's with some notes of encouragement. Left my
camera in the car of course. Olivia thought it would be fun to put
notes on the bathroom stall doors so you could see them when you sit on
the potty. Have a great poop she writes with Jesus loves you under it.
Great idea!

*We
went and saw the ENT and audiologist. She did a great job. They did a
bunch of different hearing tests, nerve tests and took different
pictures of her inner ears. Long story short...she checked out 10
decibels lower than she did last time. I thought she seemed fine with
no change at all. Apparently not. They put a hearing aid/headband on
her and she did good with that. The Dr. also said that her eardrum was
collapsed and had a lot of pressure in there but she was showing no
signs of a cold of any sort. So they were confused on that part. They
are hoping and thinking it will just go away and get better on it's
own. Time will tell. We go back in 6 months. If she has any pain or a
harder time hearing we need to bring her there. She complains of
nothing so we are good to go for now.

*We
found some bell ringers that were dancing and singing so we blessed
them with hot chocolate. They totally rocked. They gave us some candy
canes. They were so happy and sweet. A breathe of fresh air.

*Last
night when we cooked at the homeless shelter these kiddos were waiting
for the noodles to be done and had fun horsing around.

Every
time we go to cook it pulls at our hearts. The kiddos usually have a
hard time with all the happenings there. Truly...they get it. Everyday
we get choices. We get one shot at this life and
honestly, I don’t want to waste it. I want to do the important things…I
want to make those right choices. When faced with grief and sadness
and loss in such a broken world we simply need Jesus. We can’t fix
ourselves…that’s the love and hope and mercy and grace
and redemption in Christ. I don’t always make the right choices. I
screw up a lot. People and things get under my skin. I don’t like
everyone I meet. Every day God meets me right where I am and pushes me
to try and make this vapor I’ve been given worth something…and that
something is for God’s glory…for His name to be made known. I want to
love, invest and care for people…those are the important things.

*Then
we had a bag of goods for the food pantry so we swung by the Making
Spirits Bright display in Sheboygan and it was beautiful. Made me sad
that we didn't have Gabe with us. So thankful for all the sponsors and
volunteers who put that all together. Great job. Pictures were taken
in the rain and in the car.